help when you started

I dunno, I sort of 'got' Second Life immediately. Prolly because I'd been looking for something like it my whole life and was already experienced in most of the concepts that made it easier to just slide right into the nuts and bolts.

But of course there are always those that help that transition become a little smoother

Loki Pico, who always had the time to talk, answer questions, and even take you places, with the patience of a saint when dealing with hopeless noobs.

Malana Spencer and Misty Rhodes for taking me under their wings, showing me the ropes and filling my inventory full of crap... uh, I mean, useful stuff to equip me for my future. *ahem*. Both of whom I'm happy to still count among my very best friends here.

Among my biggest inspirations, people who shaped my Second Life in those early days, were Fallingwater Cellardoor, Siggy Romulus and Francis Chung, who I'm pleased to say are all still alive and kicking, and still kicking ass at what they do!

Of course, there are plenty more, but I'd be here all day and it'd read like a film credit to list them all!

after coming through the welcome area i got sucked into this weird hosting/casino cult like place and after i won their trust and managed to get myself near the top of their pyramid scheme, i broke free, ran a club with kris langdon for awhile, then just chilled with family...stone actually threw me my one and only prom EVER...which i was named prom QUEEN! OMG! and basically hmmm...mistress midnight and neph, and fey clothes...fey i believe actually made me boots in world based on a pair i have real life that i still love to wear...my first car ride was with that guy whos name i cant remember at the moment, but hes still iw and a sweetie....i also hung out with a few of the old seducity crowd...gemini and scorpio galatea, dee cassidy...wenchie..... but im still having trouble remembering most of my newbie days due to blocking out the trauma of all that hostessing i got sucked into...

I think the number one thing that I really would have liked help with adn didn't really get help with when I first started was "How do I start to make Lindens on my own?". There was and is a spattering of material about it here and there but there's no real, firm guide on how to get on with making Lindens in the game. It took about a week of feeling bored and useless before I realised there was something I could do but that week could have just as easily turned into a "I'm bored, I feel useless and unneeded here, I'm leaving" situation.

I tried making clothes, tried building even the simplest of objects and even tried scripting, all of which I am quite good at but because of the overwhelming amount of content already in SL, it all seemed a waste of time. To make life a little easier, it would have been nice if there was expereinced business owners on hand and doing classes about setting up a business and how to find a market. A lot of people that have been in the game for months still to this day buy money from IGE and GOM because they haven't been able to work out an avenue of earning Lindens themselves. I firmly believe that there is room enough in the market for everyone to be making their own unique products and selling them to make enough Lindens to go and buy someone else's products and so on. People just need to be taught how to unlock that potential, not though building classes, or scripting classes or photoshop texturing classes but by being shown unique ideas and business projects within SL that are making a decent amount of cash. By knowing the market and being able to identify areas that need more manufacturing, like Male Clothing for example, people can begin to see opportunities that they may have overlooked in the past.

To make building, texturing or scripting worthwhile, you first need to understand what the market needs because otherwise it is just another person making the same things that have been made a hundred times before...

Gosh it was so long ago not really but it seems so...

Loki Pico was my mentor and always ready to answer a question or refer me to someone who could show me how to do something.

JonMicheal Gardner gave me loads of clothing and explained texture uploads, that snapshots cost money and how the newfangled dwell system worked. Nobody actually knew how dwell worked at the time, but he tried to explain it all the same.

Candy Apple showed me how to build trees. Boy that's a loaded statement. I doubt she realized the fascination she was sparking. She also gave me some plant textures to work with and loaned me money to rez my first BINGO card.

Jarod Godel introduced me to Secone Life and gave me the money to purchase land for the first Fate Gardens in Olive which was the only sim, at the time, that had prim limits tied to square meterage. I had owned a few other lots before, but never had any prims to use.

The Fairchangs, Higbee Protagonist, Sulumor Romulus and MaryJane Sunshine visited the gardens, bought some of my early plants (you wouldn't believe ack gah yee) and generally encouraged me to stick around and keep building.

Eggy Lippmann worshipped the ground I walked on. Wait, it worked the other way around. He could build stuff faster than a person could describe it. He could also script and texture and well he could just do anything. He was quite an inspiration to me in those early early days.

My first favourite Linden was Haney, then Haney, the Robin, the Char, then Robin again gosh I'm awfully fickle.

Gosh so many people helped me make the transition last year from there but I deleted the game two times and almost gave up...Alliez Mysterio I owe a big debt to, she helped me so very much, gave me clothes, hope, friendship and so much more. Heck she gave me my first ball gown. I owe my avie to Marilyn Murphy, and publically want to thank her for "tweaking " me. I am visually impaired and I was ugly as sin. A big thanks to Jova Song for letting me watch her build even though I cannot build a thing, I am still in awe of her. Everyone who I met was kind,,,,,,,so many I miss that are gone now. Hugs to Tara Proudfoot who has been my friend since her day one, and love to her on her upcoming rl weddding. My eternal love to Zeph Zerious and my hope her rl birth of her baby went well.To Crystin Hathor, to the memory of Aynen, to Krikket, Kitty(aka Angela), Artemis, Sharn,Loki, Whisper,Jan, and all the old players gals, you all are a part of me I will never forget.To everyone who has touched me in the space of a year, I wish all of my love, even if I am not a part of your sl anymore.

I'd have to say that the biggest influence for me was Loki Pico. When I got to the noob area for the first time he offered me a FAQ notecard that he typed himself that helped answer a LOT of questions that came up as I went along in my learning experience.

As for building and stuff, mostly I am self taught from finding free content (or anything modifyable) and ripping it apart to see how it worked or how it was made. also have done a LOT of experimenting with different aspects to see what does what...

Well, I came in on New Years Eve, Dec, 31st, 2003, relatively late at night. I think around 10pm game time. After going thru orientation island, I popped out into the WA, and it was pretty much a ghost town. I think there were a couple of people off in the distance, and I did run into, and speak with a nice young lady, who was about two-weeks old, and she gave me a couple of clothing items and tips.

I flew around alot, and said hi to a few people, but for the first week, was pretty much a loner and learned on my own. Flying through Hawthorne and seeing the vampire castles, and then later having Myradyl take me for a tour through her wonderous home, really inspired me and showed me what was possible in SL. That's really when I fell in love with building.

Then I found the old, old Elite in Federal, and Feliciia Feaver and Tanya and Germaine and others, who worked there at the time, all helped me out when I had a question, or couldn't figure something out on my own. Still remember attaching my first dance bracelet, then finding out I had to reset the script, and how daunting that was! Took me about 30 minutes I think.

Since that time, there have been numerous folks that have been helpful and willing to answer my questions, but 90% of my small amount of SL knowledge was gained through just doing things myself and slowly figuring out what worked best.

yay loki!

Merwan Walker comes to mind.

A friend and I, while organizing plots of land, a 512 plot was set for 0 to anyone. It was somehow bought by script from an offline person.

We started in Live Help, and Merwan dropped what he was doing and attended in person. His advice was sound and we followed up on it, and it came to a quick resolution. I will always remember "that extra mile", thanks Merwan.

Likewise, he invited us to join Awakening Avatars and I have been a member ever since.

Siobhan, Loki, Toy and Hank all held classes that I went to. Not only that, Toy and Hank extended a lot of help to me out side of the classes.

Higbee and Kahmon were inspirations to me and Higbee led me to the path that I'm on in SL.

I could not have gotten by without the Ivory Tower of Prims, the GNU Store for Newbies or Yandi's Junk Yard.

Loreli at SL Magazine encouraged me to write about my SL experiences and Paca Hanibal put up with my first SL interview.

Paca Hanibal, Billy Madison, Darko & Paris, Hanibal Lecktor and Ace Cassidy IM'd me out of my SL shell and perstered me until I actually showed up at events and began to meet people. (Contrary to my forum personality, I am basically very shy in party situations in both RL and SL.)

.

LoL you're welcome Weedy.

hey loki,

who helped you?

I'm gonna toss another kudos towards Loki Pico.

(I started SL with another account in Nov '04 - OMGWTFBBQ I'm an ALT - so these people aren't going to have a clue why I'm thanking them, but I'll thank them anyway.)


Loki was the shizzle. Always helpful, concise, and frighteningly knowledgable. He's my vote for Honorary Linden.


The next person that helped me (alt) out immensely was Sox Rampal from Lestat's - the first club I ever went to - was a great help to a total n00b who couldn't figure out how to stop dancing. For a club owner with a lot of crap happening all at once, he was very approachable and friendly.

Schwanson Schlegel gave me the low down about alot of things my first few weeks here and was really helpful and hilarious. I'm hoping at some point I can return the favour and help him out with a project.

Marcos Fonzarelli was my neighbor many months ago and saw me struggling and offered to help me with my house. I ended up learning alot about building from him. Thank you Machos!

Toast Bard was my little buddy right from the beggining here. She was and is not only helpful but one of the reasons I look forward to logging in.

I was kind of a loner in SL to start with, I just liked to wander around aimlessly.

I do remember Mistress giving me my first make, prolly cos I looked like a confused newb in the WA, Aces was always around and was very kind to me, as was Sky Zircon

Then I met up with my group of friends, Trinity and Harry tried to show me how to build, and they soon realised building wasn't for me

Joshua Chaos <3 has given me the incentive and courage to try and do alot of things, he always tells me how proud he is after I make a completely shitty attempt at anything, and that inspires me to keep on going

He made me make my very first donut, and he's been my inspiration to keep trying ever since.

Della Street and I have known each other for years. We worked together at the TWA Dome where the St. Louis Rams play football and we had a blast. She told me about this game and all the friends she had made already and how cool they were. She gave me this avie and set me up pretty good. To be honest, I can't build or do I care to. I enjoy meeting everyone around me. Della Street and Jonathan Bancroft have taken me in everytime I come back to the game. I get mad and leave and tell Della, i will not be back and then here I am again, saying Hey Del, what's up? did ya miss me? She shoots me sometimes but I fly back and give her a hug. lol Jonathan has ejected me or banned me a few times, too, but he is made that way. He either really likes you or he hates you and it all depends on the time of day or if I have brought a friend to his house to use the balls. (oops, did i say that) Oh well, I have lived and learned that it isn't proper so I am back in his graces yet again. What I am trying to say is that my best friend forever Della Street has been my Mentor in this world and always will be. Everyone who has met her can say that she will bend over backwards to help others.

Dan Cook was the first person to show me how to work the movement controls in SL and get around a much smaller world back in May of 2003. And how to take things out of boxes.

Everything I know about building, I learned from the patient teachings of a dear friend, Bob Bunderfeld..certainly one of the BEST builders in SL.

Max Longwell took the time to show me how to buy land and edit it.

Beryl Greenacre offered to teach me how to use the Photoshop 7.0 that was given to me by a dear friend, and I wish I'd taken her up on it then.

Pituca Chang has answered so many questions and been wonderful about helping.

Loki gave me a lovely picture of a sunset and taught me that there is beautiful photograpy and art in SL.

Thank You one and all...love and hugs!

Ferran Brodsky, Surreal Farber, Flipper and Jennifur Peregrine were the first people i met up with and they all helped me *alot*.

Oh and they are all my heroes too lol

it would be cool if we could do something to thanks all these people

First there was Shagz Anubis, a friend from TSO who was persistent in coming back to TSO to get me on this game, wearing a Groucho face, who met me as soon as I got off the island and into the welcome area, and Kitten Anubis, and I forget who all else, who helped me do the beginning things.

Then Ouchquack Stern laid some girlie-type clothes on me.

On another visit soon after, this guy in the welcome area - I can't remember his name, but I know he has posted, and I know you know him, and he has some sort of clever name having to do with something like DNA or amoeba or something - NOT dna or amoeba, but something or other scientific - he gave me the names of a bunch of places I might like to visit, such as Spitooney Island.

Then there is Barnesworth Anubis, and without him I literally wouldn't be playing this game now. He showed me how to fix my settings so I actually stood a chance of MOVING, lol, which meant I didn't quit.

Angelique LaFontaine gave me basic building lessons and helped me get started there, as well as giving me one of her beautiful gallery pictures when I admired it.

Eboni came along when I was balancing my freebie house precariously in the air, trying helplessly to get it to line up with the ground. She told me how to use 0's and 90's to get it straight magically, then she came inside and gave me a script to change my windows several shades to opaque, and helped me get that installed and understand it. (Quite a lengthy process.) She also gave me a lovely fouton she had made.

Adam Zaius was kind and patient when I asked about moving into his neighborhood. Nexus helped me get "smoke" into a chimney for my house.

Before that, Ajuk was very helpful and patient when I lived in one of his apartments for a while.

Prokofy helped me by explaining land to me (which I understood none of, but he tried), and offered that I could live on his land rent-free till I got on my feet, but I just couldn't handle that much generosity, and by the time Nexus and Adam started their first zoned residential sim, I had totally forgotten Prok had land for basic members also.

Needless to say, these people's help, and other people's, doesn't stop just cause now I'm an old lady of 2 months plus. Shaggy is still there whenever I have some frustrating building problem, and Prok lets me have a sort of traveling studio, where I can use some of his land as a base to build things, since my own home already has all its prims used up.

When and if I remember the name of that guy in the Welcome Area, I will edit this post.

Oh yes - then there's the Linden who answered my live help one night when I had misplaced my inventory underneath the chat bar.

I know there are more, but these are the things that stand out in my mind when I remember that long-ago time when I was new. (Bearing in mind that time on the game passes much faster, both literally and psychologically, than real time.)

coco

The night I rezzed, I noodled around for awhile, just seeing the sights and figuring out some of the basics. After looking through the Events list, I wound up at one of Mae Best's "Knot Another Quiz" contests on Montmartre.

It was obvious from the chat that a lot of the folks there were regulars...lots of inside jokes flying around, etc. I tried chatting a couple of times, and was pretty much ignored. No hard feelings; it takes some time to break the ice. And I was still Pure Noob...the clothes, the face, the whole bit.

Suddenly, someone said "Hey! Judah's new!" About 30 seconds later, my inventory had quadrupled in size! (Oh, and I'd like to thank whoever gave me the *cough*platinum edition set*cough*...a little noisy for my taste, but quite the welcome gift )

Anyway, after the event broke up, Mae invited me to stick around. We walked down to her house and sat on her porch swing. She and I talked for a good ninety minutes. I'd have to say in retrospect that she probably knocked a solid month off my learning curve by being willing to spend that much time with Yet Another Newbie Clone. And she's been unfailingly gracious every time I've talked with her since.

The next night, I went barhopping. Travis and his crew of psychos at The Shelter were every bit as friendly. And that was the night I stumbled into Elex and Bron's Elbow Room, still my favorite place to avoid building and scripting.

-- jj

I know this is kind of a delayed reaction but I really want to mention Reno Parks who helped me immensly when I was a raw rookie. He tried to be the tough guy but I could see through all that male bravado and could see a very kind person underneath.

I wish I could remember all of the people who helped me when I was new but there were many and I want to thank all of them whoever they were.